KOREAN GOVERNMENT URGED TO BAN DANGEROUS JAPANESE PLUTONIUM SHIPMENT FROM COASTAL WATERS

14 March 2001

Seoul - The Republic of Korea government should take immediate action to prevent an armed British shipment of Japanese plutonium Mixed Oxide fuel (MOX) from violating its coastal waters, Greenpeace and KFEM (Korean Federation of Environmental Movements) warned today.(1)

Two vessels, the Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal, could be in the seas off the Korean Peninsular in a matter of days, posing a wholly unacceptable and unnecessary risk to the community, fisheries and environment of Korea. The ships are carrying a huge amount of weapons-usable plutonium and tons of uranium (2) to the nuclear power plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, on the East Sea/Sea of Japan coast, near the city of Niigata. But it's likely the MOX may never be loaded into the reactor because of safety concerns.

"Japan is wasting a vast amount of money on this highly dangerous trade", said Greenpeace International's Shaun Burnie in Tokyo. "They have already brought one such cargo from the UK and France, two years ago. Not one gram has been used because vital quality control data had been falsified by British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL). That is being returned to the UK at a cost to Britain of US$200 million (including compensation). The local Governor of the Fukushima prefecture has voiced his opposition to the loading of any MOX because of widespread safety concerns amongst the local community. All of this should send a clear message to the Japanese government that these global transports put lives and the environment at risk and must be stopped".

Tens of countries along the route of the transport have opposed the shipment, forcing it to steer clear of coastal waters in the South Pacific. Greenpeace and the KFEM are urging the Republic of Korea to voice equally strong opposition.

The two ships are due to arrive in Niigata as early as the 22nd of March, which would mean if they were to use the southern route they would pass through the East China Sea and into the East Sea/Sea of Japan this weekend. It would potentially bring the vessels to within 20-60 miles of the southern city of Pusan. Any accident involving the release of the plutonium would be catastrophic for the environment, fisheries, tourism and public health.

In 1999, following public protests in South Korea and the intervention of the Seoul government, the MOX shipment entered the East Sea/Sea of Japan via the Tsugaru Straits in northern Japan. Greenpeace is not aware of any information of this shipment being provided to the South Korean government.

"The government and the people have voiced their deep concerns in the past about these shipments, it is time for them to do so again. The environment of South Korea is being put at risk and the Government in Seoul should make it clear to Japan that they do not wish this ship to pass through the straits between the Korean Peninsula and mainland Japan," Sanghoon Lee of KFEM.

For non-proliferation reasons, for over thirty years the Republic of Korea has been blocked by the United States government from using plutonium and MOX fuel in any of its nuclear reactors. As little as 5kg of the plutonium shipped to Japan over recent years would be sufficient for one nuclear weapon.

"Japan's plans for using large amounts of this plutonium, which can easily be made into nuclear weapons, significantly increases the risk of a serious nuclear accident. Given the large number of reactors on Japan's western coastline, that means the entire Korean peninsula is being threatened with a nuclear program that makes no sense from an environmental, safety and non-proliferation perspective. The United States government would not permit this shipment to deliver MOX fuel to the South Korean nuclear program, and yet less than one days' sailing time from the Peninsula, Japan is acquiring thousands of kilograms of this weapons material. Given the fact that their MOX program is in a state of confusion, the Japanese government needs to consider more seriously the wider environment of North-east Asia and to abandon this program," said Burnie.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Shaun Burnie - Greenpeace International in Tokyo +81 3 5351 5400 (or mobile +81 90 2253 7306)

(1) Greenpeace is working with the Korean Federation of Environmental Movements, KFEM, as well as the Korean Anti-Nuclear Coalition to oppose Japan's plutonium program.

(2) On board the Pacific Pintail are approximately 220kg of plutonium, together with 4-5 tons of uranium.

A Japanese court is currently considering a case brought against plans to load the other batch of MOX fuel delivered in 1999 to the Fukushima power plant on the Pacific Coast. The Governor of the region (Prefecture) has recently opposed the loading of that fuel on the grounds that citizens are not convinced that it is safe.